In Texas, Robert Earl Keen probably comes as close to being the official Bard of Barbecue as anybody we’ve got. You might quibble with his spelling, but not his sentiment:
Don't give me no broccoli
Or any Swiss fondue
Baby if you want to rock me
Give me good ole barbeque
And what, you ask, puts us in such a mood for song?
After seven years of blogging about smoked meats, the Texas BBQ Posse is launching a full blown Web site about our favorite topic.
Don’t worry. Our main mission remains the same. We’ll tell the stories of the people and places that make Texas barbecue great, with an occasional foray into foreign territory, such as Kansas City and Memphis.
We’re also going to focus more on cooking, giving you all the information and tips you need to become a backyard barbecue champ. The most popular post we’ve ever run featured Posse Pit Master Marshall Cooper’s technique for using butcher paper to cook brisket. We’ll do more items like that, with videos that show — as well as tell — how it’s done.
And while we’ll follow Robert Earl’s advice and generally avoid broccoli and fondue, we will experiment with new tastes. Posse member Bryan Gooding recently moved from Dallas to the Pacific Northwest. Bryan is always looking for unique combinations of regional products and Texas barbecue. He promises soon a recipe for what he calls “salmon candy.” We can’t wait.
Similarly, our new site will be an open forum for readers to share their favorite barbecue experiences and cooking methods. If you think the ribs you cook, or just ate at a new joint, are the best you’ve ever tasted, don’t be bashful. Tell us about it.
When we started our original blog, Texas barbecue was at the very beginning of expanding its influence beyond the Lone Star State. The popularity keeps growing. We can tell by the readers we have all around the world.
As we move to a full blown Web site, the one thing we don’t want to do is stop having fun. We promise to do our best to keep the barbecue fascination alive. To paraphrase another Robert Earl Keen song:
The road goes on forever
And we hope the BBQ party never ends
